12/30/2021 – One of the most anticipated events in the chess calendar, the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, is taking place on December 25-31 in Warsaw, Poland, at the PGE Narodowy Stadium. Follow the games live with expert commentary starting at 15.00 CET (9.00 ET, 19.30 IST). | Photo: Rafal Oleksiewicz
new: Fritz 20
Your personal chess trainer. Your toughest opponent. Your strongest ally. FRITZ 20 is more than just a chess engine – it is a training revolution for ambitious players and professionals. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of serious chess training, or already playing at tournament level, FRITZ 20 will help you train more efficiently, intelligently and individually than ever before.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before. FRITZ is more than just a chess engine – it’s a training revolution! Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
In this course GM Ganguly turns calculation into a trainable skill with a structured path for any level.
€39.90
Day 2 - Blitz
One of the most anticipated events in the chess calendar, the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Championship, is around the corner. The open and women’s championships that have been held concurrently since 2016 will take place on December 25-31 in Warsaw, Poland, at the PGE Narodowy Stadium. Traditionally, the participants will fight not only for titles and glory but also for substantial prize money. (See full regulations: Open | Women’s).
The reigning champion in all three formats (classical, rapid and blitz), Magnus Carlsen, is heading into the event as a clear favourite, but his old and new rivals are eager to challenge his supremacy. Can Magnus repeat his triumph of 2014 and 2019 and win a double-crown?
You are looking for an active answer to 1.d4? Then the Grünfeld Indian is an excellent choice! Not by chance this opening is one of the main weapons of some top grandmasters!
Commentary by WGM Keti Tsatsalashvili and IM Lawrence Trent
Open
Rapid - 13 rounds with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10-second increments per move
December 26: Rounds 1-5
December 27: Rounds 6-9
December 28: Rounds 10-13
Blitz - 21 rounds with a time control of 3 minutes plus 2-second increments per move
December 29: Rounds 1-12
December 30: Rounds 13-21
Women’s
Rapid - 11 rounds with a time control of 15 minutes plus 10-second increments per move
December 26: Rounds 1-4
December 27: Rounds 5-8
December 28: Rounds 9-11
Blitz - 17 rounds with a time control of 3 minutes plus 2-second increments per move
December 29: Rounds 1-9
December 30: Rounds 10-17
In both sections, rounds kick off daily at 15.00 CET, except on December 30 when the final day of blitz will begin one hour earlier, at 14.00 CET.
YOUR PERSONAL CHESS COACH - Whether you’re taking your first steps into the world of club chess, or already playing at a tournament level: with FRITZ, you can train more efficiently, intelligently and with a more personalised approach than ever before.
Chess is a concrete game. There is no way around training your calculation skills. Improve your visualization, pattern recognition and learn calculation techniques such as reciprocal thinking with this course.
This compact course is designed specifically for practical play. Instead of overwhelming you with endless theory, it focuses on the critical lines, typical plans, and recurring tactical ideas.
Slav and Semi-Slav Powerbase 2026 is a database and contains a total of 11 766 games from Mega 2026 or the Correspondence Database 2026, of which 1136 are annotated.
For the Slav and Semi-Slav Powerbook 2026 the ratings average was set again at 2400. 2.24 million games from the engine room of playchess.com met this threshold, to which were added over 130 000 games played by humans.
In this volume, we dive into core aspects of chess technique. Smyslov taught the principle of tactical hierarchy, “checks, double attacks, and unprotected pieces”, and Mikhalchishin demonstrates how this method of calculation is vital.
Videos: Nico Zwirs examines two Petroffs from the 2026 Candidates. Robert Ris has a tip against the Caro-Kann Advance Variation with 3…c5. Fiona Sieber reveals a surprise weapon against the Najdorf. ‘Lucky Bag’ with 40 analyses by Ganguly, L'Ami et al.
€14.90
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